Bradyco Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,790 Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Bradyco Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,258,000. Eaton comprises about 0.9% of Bradyco Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in Eaton by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Eaton by 621.4% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.58.

Eaton Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $277.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $322.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Eaton Company Profile

Eaton Corporation plc operates as a power management company worldwide. The company’s Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segment provides electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality and connectivity products, wiring devices, circuit protection products, utility power distribution products, power reliability equipment, and services, as well as hazardous duty electrical equipment, emergency lighting, fire detection, explosion-proof instrumentation, and structural support systems.